Getting Faster With Video

1/15/2014

By Chelsea White//Communications Intern

When it comes to swimming at the national level, athletes know that they must spend a lot of time practicing in the water. Coaches and their staffs invest all of their expertise aiding the athletes in the hopes of improving the swimmer’s performance. And while the swimmers rely and trust in the coaching staff to be their eyes for critiquing, here at the U.S. Olympic Training Center (OTC) in Colorado Springs, the USA Swimming National Team staff provides the unique experience for the swimmer to become their own coach.

During the end of December through the beginning of the month of January, the California Aquatics out of Berkeley, Calif., visited the OTC. Not only did they include the likes of multiple collegiate swimmers from the University of California, but Olympic gold medalists such as Nathan Adrian, Natalie Coughlin and Anthony Ervin were also present. Aside from their rigorous training schedule that including wet- and dry-land practice, the club was also took advantage of video analysis sessions with USA Swimming High Performance Consultant, Russell Mark.

“Watching film and watching what the best swimmers do just is a great way to learn. The use of video is definitely one of the most valuable things that we have in swimming. Anytime that we talk about sport, talk about film, talk about technique, or talk about how to get better, I think that is always a good thing,” Mark said.

The idea behind the video sessions was for the swimmers to be able to see firsthand how the best of the best perform an action in the water. Seeing collected video footage allowed them to compare and contrast their own movements in the hopes of improving their technique in the pool.

“I think the beauty of having talks like these is that it allows the guys to A) see footage of what the best in the world are doing, and B) it allows them to then have a discussion about it. They then can discern whether they are doing things similar or if they are doing things differently to tell what they need to improve on. And then I think from there they are able to take it right into the water and hopefully translate what they have seen and talked about,” said Cal assistant coach Yuri Suguiyama.

And while the beneficial use of video is no secret, having the collective minds of experienced staff and Olympic athletes combined in one discussion makes for some great teaching moments.

Mark, who has 12 years of experience with USA Swimming, said, “I have watched all of these clips before so I have my own thoughts, but I really love the collective environment. When you have 10 different people watching a piece of film, people see different things and ask questions that spawn different ideas. That is where the value is.”

Those different ideas trickle down from the collaboration of the swimmers themselves. The unique opportunity of seeing volumes upon volumes of video footage, while also having the ability to slow down the speed of the image for more thorough analysis transforms the swimmer from having an athlete’s mentality to a coach’s mentality.

“It just forces them and allows them to take a little bit more ownership in what they are doing. It is one thing for us as coaches to talk about certain things, but another thing when they can see it. The more that they can visualize in their minds what they need to be doing the better; it then puts the responsibility on themselves,” said Suguiyama.

The OTC offers state-of-the-art facilities for any athlete to use during their training sessions. What gives athletes the Olympic experience and competitive edge is the added benefits of technology and shared knowledge.